Welcome to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's (CBC) Searchable Best Books List, a tool designed to help educators, families, librarians, and others access developmentally appropriate and engaging books for young readers (ages birth - 18).
Our online Searchable Best Books List draws from the committee's annual Best Children's Books of the Year-beginning with the list of books published in 2000-with each featuring more than 600 high-quality titles for young readers.
To share feedback about the tool, please feel free to email bookcom@bankstreet.edu. To learn more about the CBC, visit https://www.bankstreet.edu/cbc/.
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Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter
Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long
Illustrator: Archival images and photographs
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Famous for breaking the color barrier, great baseball player Jackie Robinson was also a passionate, steadfast civil rights activist. Archival images and photographs. Meticulously sourced.
Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long
Illustrator: Archival images and photographs
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Famous for breaking the color barrier, great baseball player Jackie Robinson was also a passionate, steadfast civil rights activist. Archival images and photographs. Meticulously sourced.
Code Breaker, The: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code
Walter Isaacson, with Sarah Durand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Doudna and other prominent scientists developed a gene-editing tool that is now being used to prevent and cure human diseases, including the Coronavirus. Well documented. Glossary, photographs. Young readers edition of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race.
Walter Isaacson, with Sarah Durand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Doudna and other prominent scientists developed a gene-editing tool that is now being used to prevent and cure human diseases, including the Coronavirus. Well documented. Glossary, photographs. Young readers edition of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race.
Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart, The
Chesil
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Ginny, a Korean born in Japan, is sent to school in the United States after a breakdown and must decide how to forge ahead in the face of injustice and prejudice.
Chesil
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Ginny, a Korean born in Japan, is sent to school in the United States after a breakdown and must decide how to forge ahead in the face of injustice and prejudice.
Daughters of a Dead Empire
Carolyn Tara O'Neil
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In 1918 during the Russian Revolution, Anna, the tsar's daughter, escapes the Bolsheviks. She encounters Evgenia, a peasant girl who must collaborate with her in the desperate battle to survive. Historical notes, back matter.
Carolyn Tara O'Neil
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In 1918 during the Russian Revolution, Anna, the tsar's daughter, escapes the Bolsheviks. She encounters Evgenia, a peasant girl who must collaborate with her in the desperate battle to survive. Historical notes, back matter.
Days of Bluegrass Love, The
Edward van de Vendel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
A Dutch teen, spending his gap year as a counselor at an international youth camp, experiences the astonishment of first love with his Norwegian roommate. Sexual scenes.
Edward van de Vendel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
A Dutch teen, spending his gap year as a counselor at an international youth camp, experiences the astonishment of first love with his Norwegian roommate. Sexual scenes.
Days of Infamy: How a Century of Bigotry Led to Japanese American Internment
Lawrence Goldstone
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
An accessible history of decades of anti-Asian American legislation and policies, leading to the incarceration in the United States of over 110,000 people of Japanese descent during World War II. Sources, notes, archival photographs, maps.
Lawrence Goldstone
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
An accessible history of decades of anti-Asian American legislation and policies, leading to the incarceration in the United States of over 110,000 people of Japanese descent during World War II. Sources, notes, archival photographs, maps.
Destination Unknown
Bill Konigsberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In 1987 two teen boys in New York City fall in love and help each other navigate life in the shadow of the deadly AIDS pandemic.
Bill Konigsberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In 1987 two teen boys in New York City fall in love and help each other navigate life in the shadow of the deadly AIDS pandemic.
Don't Look Back: A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey from Sudan to America
Achut Deng, Keely Hutton
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Achut Deng, one of the few Sudanese girls included in the migration of Lost Boys, recounts her path to American citizenship. A story of love, sacrifice, and family devotion.
Achut Deng, Keely Hutton
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Achut Deng, one of the few Sudanese girls included in the migration of Lost Boys, recounts her path to American citizenship. A story of love, sacrifice, and family devotion.
Dream Runners, The
Shveta Thakrar
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Tanvi, 17, is a harvester of humans' dreams for immortal Nagas, who cannot dream. When Tanvi's memories of her former life resurface, she turns to Venkat, the dreamsmith, for help.
Shveta Thakrar
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Tanvi, 17, is a harvester of humans' dreams for immortal Nagas, who cannot dream. When Tanvi's memories of her former life resurface, she turns to Venkat, the dreamsmith, for help.
Each Night Was Illuminated
Jodi Lynn Anderson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
After witnessing a fatal train accident, 17-year-old Cassie, a questioning Catholic, finds herself on a ghost-hunting quest with Elias, a Bangladeshi-Australian visitor, and discovers something to believe in.
Jodi Lynn Anderson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
After witnessing a fatal train accident, 17-year-old Cassie, a questioning Catholic, finds herself on a ghost-hunting quest with Elias, a Bangladeshi-Australian visitor, and discovers something to believe in.
Epic Story of Every Living Thing, The
Deb Caletti
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
When Harper, 17, travels to Hawaii with her half-siblings to meet their sperm donor father, she begins to discover who she really is.
Deb Caletti
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
When Harper, 17, travels to Hawaii with her half-siblings to meet their sperm donor father, she begins to discover who she really is.
Ethel's Song: Ethel Rosenberg's Life in Poems
Barbara Krasner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Krasner's verses illuminate the short, impassioned life of Ethel Rosenberg, executed as a spy in a probable rush to judgment during the intensely anti-Soviet 1950s. Source notes, time line, bibliography.
Barbara Krasner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Krasner's verses illuminate the short, impassioned life of Ethel Rosenberg, executed as a spy in a probable rush to judgment during the intensely anti-Soviet 1950s. Source notes, time line, bibliography.
Every Variable of Us
Charles A. Bush
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Black high schooler Alexis's dreams of a basketball college scholarship vanish when she's injured in a gang shooting. Pushed to participate in the "science team," she discovers other ways for success.
Charles A. Bush
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Black high schooler Alexis's dreams of a basketball college scholarship vanish when she's injured in a gang shooting. Pushed to participate in the "science team," she discovers other ways for success.
Family of Liars
E. Lockhart
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Carrie, 17, confronts the ghost of her sister while recounting a horrific incident. Spare lyrical prose explores complex themes: guilt, blame, love, truth. A stand-alone prequel to We Were Liars.
E. Lockhart
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Carrie, 17, confronts the ghost of her sister while recounting a horrific incident. Spare lyrical prose explores complex themes: guilt, blame, love, truth. A stand-alone prequel to We Were Liars.
Finding Jupiter
Kelis Rowe
Illustrator: Bex Glendining
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
A summer romance between two Black Memphis teens reveals long-held family secrets that can tear them apart. Poetry and prose. Elegant grayscale illustrations.
Kelis Rowe
Illustrator: Bex Glendining
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
A summer romance between two Black Memphis teens reveals long-held family secrets that can tear them apart. Poetry and prose. Elegant grayscale illustrations.
First Thing about You, The
Chaz Hayden
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
After his family moves to New Jersey, Harris, 15, decides to reinvent himself and not just be known as the kid in the wheelchair.
Chaz Hayden
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
After his family moves to New Jersey, Harris, 15, decides to reinvent himself and not just be known as the kid in the wheelchair.
Forgery of Roses, A
Jessica S. Olson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Myra is a Prodigy: she can heal people and animals by painting them. Is her magic powerful enough to bring back the dead or save her ill sister?
Jessica S. Olson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Myra is a Prodigy: she can heal people and animals by painting them. Is her magic powerful enough to bring back the dead or save her ill sister?
Forging Silver into Stars
Brigid Kemmerer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In a kingdom where magic has been banished, Callyn, a baker, and Jax, a blacksmith, learn their new king has magical powers and become entangled in a conspiracy to overthrow the royal family.
Brigid Kemmerer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In a kingdom where magic has been banished, Callyn, a baker, and Jax, a blacksmith, learn their new king has magical powers and become entangled in a conspiracy to overthrow the royal family.
Four for the Road
K. J. Reilly
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Asher vows to avenge his mother's death at the hands of a drunk driver, but his journey takes a different turn when his grief group metamorphoses into a circle of friends.
K. J. Reilly
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Asher vows to avenge his mother's death at the hands of a drunk driver, but his journey takes a different turn when his grief group metamorphoses into a circle of friends.
Funeral Girl
Emma K. Ohland
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Asexual Georgia lives with her family in a funeral home. After her grandmother's death, she learns she can awaken the dead, which becomes problematic when a classmate dies.
Emma K. Ohland
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Asexual Georgia lives with her family in a funeral home. After her grandmother's death, she learns she can awaken the dead, which becomes problematic when a classmate dies.
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star
Jadzia Axelrod
Illustrator: Jess Taylor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Sent to Earth after her planet is attacked, an extraterrestrial princess transforms into a boy, but finds it difficult to hide and lie. Bright candy-colored graphics.
Jadzia Axelrod
Illustrator: Jess Taylor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Sent to Earth after her planet is attacked, an extraterrestrial princess transforms into a boy, but finds it difficult to hide and lie. Bright candy-colored graphics.
Gaps, The
Leanne Hall
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Biracial (Chinese Singaporean and white Australian) scholarship student Chloe and white queen bee Natalia forge a friendship that enables each to process complicated feelings after a classmate at their Melbourne school is kidnapped.
Leanne Hall
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Biracial (Chinese Singaporean and white Australian) scholarship student Chloe and white queen bee Natalia forge a friendship that enables each to process complicated feelings after a classmate at their Melbourne school is kidnapped.
Ghosts of Rose Hill, The
R. M. Romero
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Exiled to Prague for the summer by her Cuban mother and Czech father, Ilana, 16, restores an old Jewish cemetery, falls in love with a ghost, and battles a monster. Free verse.
R. M. Romero
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
Exiled to Prague for the summer by her Cuban mother and Czech father, Ilana, 16, restores an old Jewish cemetery, falls in love with a ghost, and battles a monster. Free verse.
Girl in the Castle, The
James Patterson & Emily Raymond
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
A psychiatric patient believing she lives in the 14th century finally confronts the source of her delusions.
James Patterson & Emily Raymond
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
A psychiatric patient believing she lives in the 14th century finally confronts the source of her delusions.
Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea, The
Axie Oh
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In this reimagined Korean folktale, Mina, 16, sacrifices herself to the Sea God in place of her brother's beloved, hoping to save her homeland.
Axie Oh
Ages: 14+
Published: 2022
In this reimagined Korean folktale, Mina, 16, sacrifices herself to the Sea God in place of her brother's beloved, hoping to save her homeland.